Wandering through Costco with the shopping list felt like an out of body experience. Yoshida sauce? What the heck is Yoshida sauce?

Ah.

Oh.

Um...

Wouldn't be my first choice (or my third or my three-hundredth) for after-party fare, but it's what they wanted. And their guests absolutely loved it.

The taquitos were the first to go, followed quickly by the meatballs. We couldn't keep the bowl of pre-packaged artichoke/spinach dip stocked. Nothing on the buffet table took more than 15 minutes to prepare (except where "prepare" is translated "defrost").

Except the chocolate. In the motel-provided mini-microwave, the process of melting the chocolate was tedious.

In any other context, I would have been mortally embarrassed presenting this spread of junk food. But these are my friends. And this is what they wanted. So I swallow real hard, ignore their strange tastes in food and deliver what they ask.

And quickly duck out of the room before anyone associates my name with the menu...